C OV ER S T ORY
THE BULLETIN • Thursday, February 24, 2011 A5
NEW MEXICO
Space tourism hits economic snag By Dan Frosch New York Times News Service
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — Somewhere off a dusty road in southern New Mexico sits a hulking, horseshoe-crab-shaped structure and a two-mile-long slab of concrete flanked by mesas and mountains. Welcome to Spaceport America, the country’s first facility built specifically for commercial space travel — an endeavor that the state envisioned as the epicenter of a fledgling industry where tourists would pay large sums to take suborbital flights into space. These days, though, after years of planning and debate, New Mexico’s grand ambitions for the spaceport have come down to earth, its future entwined with the state’s struggling economy. Although more than 400 people have put down deposits for flights, totaling more than $55 million, it is still not exactly clear when the first flight will launch. In her first two months in office, Gov. Susana Martinez removed the spaceport’s supervising board, pushed out its executive director and began a review of the project’s finances, saying the spaceport needed more robust private investment. Martinez, a Republican, was elected on a promise of paring down government, and the state’s revenue windfall is long gone. The governor has since made a point of stating her support for the project, and this month she appointed a new board, including three former members and Sid Gutierrez, a former astronaut. But she has also vowed to privatize the spaceport, saying taxpayers have already paid their fair share. “The spaceport is part of the plan for economic development in New Mexico, and the voters made it clear they support it,” Martinez said in a recent interview. “We want to be a leader in space exploration, but we want to do it within our budget.” The dream of a commercial spaceport has been around for years in New Mexico, which has long had a love affair with aerospace and aliens. In 2006, flush with oil and gas revenue, the Legislature, pushed by Gov. Bill Richardson, approved $132 mil-
By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press
Mark Holm / New York Times News Service
The terminal and hangar facility at Spaceport America, the country’s first facility built for commercial space travel, in Truth or Consequences, N.M. New Mexico’s new governor, Susana Martinez, is saying she still supports the spaceport after she removed the supervising board, demanded the resignation of its executive director and launched an ongoing review of the project’s finances.
“The spaceport is part of the plan for economic development in New Mexico, and the voters made it clear they support it. We want to be a leader in space exploration, but we want to do it within our budget.” — Gov. Susana Martinez, New Mexico lion to build the spaceport. Standing to reap the benefits if the project succeeds, voters in Dona Ana and Sierra counties passed a quarter-cent sales tax, which will provide the remaining money needed for construction. But New Mexico has since taken on a $450 million deficit. The ambitious project was budgeted at about $209 million, but a second runway could be needed to expand commercial operations. Martinez has made it clear she wants any additional financing
for the spaceport to come from private industry. “That’s going to be our big push right now,” she said. Supporters of the project say the spaceport could create hundreds of jobs and draw wealthy tourists. But some here question the new governor’s commitment to see it through. “Let’s face it — privatizing the spaceport means selling it off and trying to remove any risk to the state,” said Rick Homans, who was appointed by Richardson as the facility’s ex-
ecutive director until Martinez asked him to step down. “The message would be that the state is not committed long term, and the new industry will look at other states where they can find a fully engaged partner.” New Mexico is not the only entity heavily invested. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has signed on to be the facility’s anchor tenant for 20 years and has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars toward developing the technology. In 2005, amid considerable fanfare, Virgin began taking reservations for spaceflights — a ticket costs $200,000. Construction of the 110,000-squarefoot hangar and terminal is nearing completion. Virgin Galactic’s chief executive and president, George Whitesides, said in a recent interview that the company expects to launch commercial flights within two years.
Contract Continued from A1 Bereavement leave would increase from 24 to 40 hours. Employees would receive vacation time increases earlier in their tenures. And the union would like its new contract to preserve pay for employees who choose to be demoted in order to avoid being laid off. Loving said he wasn’t surprised at the initial offer made by the governor’s bargaining team, and he expected something regarding the 6 percent pickup to be on the table. The pickup refers to the percentage of salary employees must pay toward retirement. Many government agencies pay — or “pick up” — that contribution instead. Loving attributes this practice to a decision by state employees years ago to take a wage cut in exchange for the 6 percent pickup. “If we hadn’t traded the wage increase, it would have been added wages that would have compounded over time,” he said. “Economically it’s a moot point.” Both the elimination of the 6 percent pickup and the requirement that state employees share the cost of their health insurance coverage were recommendations from former Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s “Reset Cabinet,” which was formed to examine the state’s financial picture and suggest ways to improve it. Nick Smith, spokesman for House Republicans, said members of his caucus have a proposed bill that would reduce the 6 percent pickup to 3 percent. “We’ve been clear that in order to bring our spending under control, the governor — and if not the governor, the Legislature — should take action to rein in PERS costs,” Smith said. Smith said if the governor can eliminate the PERS pickup entirely, it would help the state’s taxpayers. But, he said, many Republicans believe a 3 percent cap on the PERS pickup would be a good compromise. Loving said he’s urging his members not to overreact to the governor’s initial proposal and would like to remind the public this is just the beginning of the process. The next meeting between state negotiators and the union is scheduled for March 3. Lauren Dake can be reached at 541-419-8074 or at ldake@bendbulletin.com.
Most-traveled space shuttle set for final launch
BEND
RIVER
PROMENADE,
BEND
•
5 41 . 317. 6 0 0 0
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After 143 million miles and nearly a year all told in orbit, space shuttle Discovery is poised to blast off today, one last time. It promises to be a sentimental journey for the six astronauts assigned to the mission as well as the supporting cast of thousands who have painstakingly prepped the world’s mosttraveled rocketship. Once more, NASA’s fleet leader is paving a new road, one that leads to shuttle retirement and an uncertain future for America’s space program. When Discovery returns from the International Space Station, it will be the first of the three surviving shuttles to be decommissioned this year John Raoux / The Associated Press and shipped off Space shuttle Discovery to a museum. stands ready for launch The Smithsonian at Pad 39A as the rotatInstitution has ing service structure is first dibs on this moved back to expose one. the orbiter at the KenBut the end nedy Space Center in of the 30-year Cape Canaveral, Fla., shuttle program on Wednesday. is still months down the road. For now, NASA prefers to focus on Discovery’s last hurrah, an 11-day mission to deliver a bundle of space station supplies and an experimental humanoid robot that will become the first of its kind in space. “Discovery is the most-flown spacecraft in history,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told The Associated Press. “People don’t understand. They say it matter-of-factly. There is no other multi-flown spacecraft than the shuttle.”